Joshua 18:1-10

GOD’S WORD Translation

The Second Stage in Dividing the Land

18 The whole congregation of Israel gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land was under their control.

² There were still seven tribes in Israel who had not yet received any land as their inheritance. ³ So Joshua asked the Israelites, “How long are you going to waste time conquering the land which the Lord God of your ancestors has given you? ⁴ Choose three men from each tribe, and I will send them out. They will survey the land and write a description of it which shows ⌞the borders of⌟ their inheritance. Then they will come back to me. ⁵ They will divide the land into seven parts. Judah will stay within its territory in the south, and Joseph’s descendants will stay within their territory in the north. ⁶ You must describe the seven parts of the land and report to me here. I will draw lots for you here in the presence of the Lord our God. ⁷ Levi’s tribe has no separate region among you, because their inheritance is to serve the Lord as priests. The tribes of Gad and Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh have received the inheritance that the Lord’s servant Moses gave them on the east side of the Jordan River.”

⁸ As the men got ready to go, Joshua ordered them to write a description of the land. He said, “Go survey the land. Write a description of it, and return to me. Then I will draw lots for you in the presence of the Lord here in Shiloh.”

⁹ The men surveyed the land. They described it in a book. The land was divided into seven parts according to its cities. Then they returned to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰ So Joshua drew lots for them in the presence of the Lord in Shiloh. There Joshua divided the land among the tribes of Israel.